


Acceptable Losses

by Emerald_Inkspot493



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Gets a Hug, Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Found Family, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, No Beta We Die Like Clones, Plo Koon is a Dad, no attachments lol what's that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24365578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emerald_Inkspot493/pseuds/Emerald_Inkspot493
Summary: “Little ‘Soka…” the Jedi master’s deep voice vibrated against the back of his antiox mask.  “You were without your soldiers, without your fellow Jedi, and even without your lightsaber. Yet still you have returned to us. Whether or not you realize it, you were presented with many small choices on the Trandoshan moon. Each time, your decisions put you on the path to reclaim your freedom, and to help those around you. That is more than luck - I’m very proud of you, and your master is as well.”
Relationships: Plo Koon & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 5
Kudos: 118





	Acceptable Losses

“General Skywalker! You’re needed in a meeting in the Senate building - something about a diplomatic affair on Mon Cala, sir.”  
Ahsoka was jolted out of her daze as her master’s comlink blinked.

“I’ll be right there.” Anakin sighed, turning to Ahsoka. “Ahsoka, I - ”

“It’s fine, Master. I should probably get some sleep, anyways.” Well, it wasn’t quite a lie: she _could_ use some rest, but there was no way she would be able to fall asleep any time soon.

Anakin reached out for a moment, one hand on her shoulder, looking quite clearly like he wanted to say something else. A moment more and the hand was gone, the general turning away and activating his comlink. “Anything else I should know about the mission, Rex? What’s the timetable with this thing?”

And then the padawan was alone in the hallway - truly alone, without even the usual foot traffic to make the place seem more alive. Ahsoka forced herself to take a deep breath, release the tension in her shoulders as she exhaled. She reached one hand beneath her rear lek, trying to massage out the stubborn soreness at the base of her neck. The tidy, peaceful hallways of the Jedi Temple with their soothing lighting were a far cry from Island Four, but she found herself unable to relax. She really didn’t want to go back to her quarters and try to sleep.

Ahsoka wasn’t quite sure how she ended up in one of the meditation rooms, considering she hadn’t been paying attention during the walk there, and she didn’t actually remember deciding to go there in the first place. It was one of the smaller rooms, little more than a few cushions on the floor and a shade dimming the light from the window.

She closed the door behind her and looked around for a moment before selecting a spot to her left, close against the far wall and warmed by the sunlight filtering in from outside. With practiced ease she settled onto the cushion there, crossing her legs and trying to will her tense posture to relax. She placed her hands palm-down on either side of her, in an attempt to ground her, to focus her on her surroundings as she tried to surrender herself to them and silence her rambling thoughts.

Ahsoka wasn’t surprised when it was more difficult than usual to quiet her mind. The steady sound of the fountains outside her little room was nice, but the normal sounds of the temple - low voices, footsteps, the occasional rumble of a speeder from outside the walls - were more irritating than usual.

She was surprised, though, when the door slid open. She was halfway to her feet before her mind caught up with her and she realized who was standing in the doorway.

“Master Plo,” Ahsoka visibly relaxed, sinking back into her meditative position.

The Kel Dor moved further inside the doorway, his hands clasped together at his waist. “I don’t mean to disturb you. Would you rather I didn’t stay?”

“No, it’s fine, I - uh,” she frowned, moving one hand along the smooth floor beside her as if trying to find something hidden in its flawless surface. “I haven’t been able to actually meditate, or anything.”

“Would it help to talk, then? I passed Master Skywalker heading towards the Senate building, and looking very impatient about it.” The older Jedi crossed the room, lowering himself to sit next to the Togruta. He moved one hand to still the restless motion of her own.

“He always looks impatient,” Ahsoka grinned, unable to resist the lighthearted teasing, even when her master wasn’t there. The light pressure on her hand was more grounding than anything else she had tried so far, the metal claw covering slightly cold against the back of her fingers. She thought she heard a faint hum of amusement from behind his mask.

After a moment of silence he spoke again. “It seems there is something on your mind, even if you don’t know how to put it into words. Am I right, child?”

Ahsoka paused, trying to figure out if he was right or not. As usual, he was, she realized after a few seconds.

“When I was talking to Master Skywalker on the landing platform, I said I survived because of his training, and I meant it - but I think a lot of it was just luck. And I couldn’t have done it without the others. I always say that I want him to trust me more - and I do, I know I’ve learned so much, but when I was being hunted by the Trandoshans there were a lot of times when I had no idea what I was doing, when I felt so alone and I had no idea how to help the others.”

“Little ‘Soka…” the Jedi master’s deep voice vibrated against the back of his antiox mask.

“You were without your soldiers, without your fellow Jedi, and even without your lightsaber. Yet still you have returned to us. Whether or not you realize it, you were presented with many small choices on the Trandoshan moon. Each time, your decisions put you on the path to reclaim your freedom, and to help those around you. That is more than luck - I’m very proud of you, and your master is as well.”

Ahsoka shifted from her meditative posture and leaned back against the wall. Their shoulders bumped together, and she leaned into the contact, resting her head on his shoulder before she could think twice about it. She hadn’t even been on the hunting grounds very long, but she was more touch-starved than she cared to admit.

“I know. But I still feel like I don’t deserve it. There were three Jedi younglings with me on that island - one of them was killed. I couldn’t do anything to stop it, Master.”

“Hm. You think her death was your fault?”

“I - I don’t know what I think…but I should’ve been able to do _something_ , right?” Jedi robes were hardly the height of luxury, but Ahsoka curled further inwards, her cheek pressed into the coarse cloth of the master’s robes. _Oh_. She was crying now. That wasn’t supposed to happen.

“O-Mer and Jinx are free, and you played a part in that, little ‘Soka. You can’t blame yourself for Kalifa’s death and not recognize your role in saving the lives of the others…don’t act so surprised, child, I read the report before you arrived, I at least know their names.”

Even though Plo’s eyes and mouth were hidden behind his goggles and antiox mask, she could hear the laughter in his voice.

It went away once the dampness of her crying soaked through his robes at the shoulder. Ahsoka mentally cursed in a few different languages as Plo held her shoulders, gently angling her body away from him to get a better look at her face.

“You’ve been through a lot these past few days, there’s nothing wrong with crying as you recover from such things.”

“But Master - I’m a Commander, I’m used to war, I’ve seen soldiers die - why am I still thinking about it this time?”

“You are a Jedi, Ahsoka, before you are a military leader. As Jedi, we don’t have the luxury of acceptable losses. The death of one so young, and in such a cruel way, is a terrible thing. There will still be pain even if you don’t blame yourself.”

Plo released his hold on Ahsoka’s shoulders, and she curled inwards on herself again - _like some kind of youngling_ , she thought. She felt Master Plo’s arms go around her in a hug, one hand on her Silka bead Padawan braid as the bottom pieces of his mask collided with her montrals.

Ahsoka didn’t realize just how tense she had been on the transport back to Coruscant and even once she’d gotten back to the Temple, until she was finally able to relax. It was over now. She was safe, there was nobody trying to hunt her for sport, and she was in a familiar, comfortable place. She listened to the soft sound of breathing filtered through the mask above her head. There was still a war to fight - but for now, Ahsoka was content to be present in the sunny little Temple room, at least until they got their next orders.

**Author's Note:**

> Listen I'm rewatching TCW to cope with it being over and I'm just really emotional okay? Thank you Mr. Filoni for taking a character with no lines and making me emotional about him. Plo Koon is such a dad, guys, we stan, okay? So I just rewatched this arc and realized that 1. I wanted a scene with Ahsoka and Plo afterward, and 2. I would have to write it myself. No beta reader, I wrote this in like two hours, enjoy!


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